Severe weather tore through northwest Kansas on Wednesday, producing at least one reported tornado and hail up to the size of softballs.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued severe thunderstorm warnings for several counties Wednesday night, including the Kansas City metro area. Tornado warnings were also issued northeast of Topeka, and forecasters urged residents to seek shelter and avoid windows. Parts of northwestern Missouri were also under severe thunderstorm warnings as of 11 p.m. EST.
Rain obscures the view of a tornado on May 28, 2019, in Lawrence, Kansas. Severe storms tore through northeastern Kansas and parts of Missouri on Wednesday. Rain obscures the view of a tornado on May 28, 2019, in Lawrence, Kansas. Severe storms tore through northeastern Kansas and parts of Missouri on Wednesday. Kyle Rivas/Getty Images
Videos of the hailstorm, which the NWS said at one point produced hail up to 3.5 inches in diameter, were shared to X, formerly Twitter. In one clip shared by KMBC from a resident in Kansas City, Kansas, large balls of ice covered the ground of the cameraman’s front lawn while lightning flashed in the background.
Severe weather brought significant hail to Johnson and Wyandotte counties on the Kansas side. KMBC viewer Jackie shared this video of hail falling in the area of 64th and Leavenworth Road in KCK. #kcwx #kswx pic.twitter.com/SBSiNORqmy
— KMBC (@kmbc) March 14, 2024
Meteorologist Lindsey Anderson, based in Kansas City, Missouri, captured a photo in which she held a handful of hail, with the image shared to X by KSHB. According to the NWS, hail damage to vehicles was expected during the storm, as was potential wind damage to roofs, siding and trees.
Other residents captured videos of a tornado that reportedly touched down just east of Alta Vista, Kansas, on Wednesday night. Storm chaser Ben Williams posted a video at 8:51 p.m. EST of a large funnel forming near Council Grove—roughly 15 miles south of Alta Vista and southwest of Kansas City.
Another video of the tornado, captured by storm chaser Aaron Jayjack, was shared to X by AccuWeather at 9:25 p.m., as the twister was seen near Alta Vista. KSNW reported at 10:51 p.m. EST Wednesday that one of its meteorologists, Jack Maney, tracked a storm that produced a tornado just east of Alta Vista.
Tornado watches were issued by the NWS for Atchison, Coffey, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Lyon, Miami, Morris, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee and Wyandotte counties until 2 a.m. Thursday.
Newsweek reached out to the NWS for further information via email late Wednesday night.
The storm system will continue shifting eastward on Thursday, although the threat of hail is expected to lessen as it moves through northeastern Texas and central Missouri. Forecasters who spoke with the Associated Press said that heavy rains and high winds were still expected later this week.
According to Alex Sosnowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, forecasters are watching for the potential of torrential rain on Friday as the storm reaches Louisiana and Arkansas, which has the chance of producing up to 4 inches.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
A legjobb élmény biztosítása érdekében olyan technológiákat használunk, mint a cookie-k az eszközadatok tárolására és/vagy eléréséhez. Ha beleegyezik ezekbe a technológiákba, akkor olyan adatokat dolgozhatunk fel ezen az oldalon, mint a böngészési viselkedés vagy az egyedi azonosítók. A hozzájárulás elmulasztása vagy visszavonása bizonyos funkciókat és funkciókat hátrányosan érinthet.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
